We have a wonderful gym in our basement. There is a rower, a treadmill, a weight machine that allows for sixty different exercise moves, free weights, dumbbells, smart bells, some rubber band thingies, a medicine ball, I think that’s what it’s called, another big blue ball that you apparently roll over and a colorful array of yoga mats. There is also a giant smart TV that you can watch while you workout. Anjum insists it has everything an expensive gym membership can offer, and it’s just a flight of stairs away. She spends at least an hour there every day; it’s her happy place. I feel so much better after a workout, she says. It releases all the tension, the stress, it all just washes away with the sweat. I wouldn’t know. My happy place is lounging in my pajamas in front of a TV watching professionals play sports while I snack on bhakarwadis and barfis. The sport itself doesn’t matter, cricket, soccer, football, baseball, badminton, snooker, bowling, ice curling, poker, spelling bees or hot dog eating contests. Joey Chestnut, 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes, I mean c’mon! What’s not to love. Working out that’s what. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a fat lazy slob, well, at least not yet. I played in local soccer leagues well into my thirties, I used to be a decent runner and loved trekking through mountains for hours. But the thought of getting on a treadmill and running on a rotating rubber mat literally going nowhere is not my idea of fun. Nor is picking up random discs of iron that hurt my back and shoulders or trying to touch my fingers to my toes, why, or getting into a dog or fish or cobra posture. No, I like to listen to my body. If it says it’s hurting I don’t see the necessity to torture it any further. But if you just get past that threshold, I’m told, the body will release endorphins and you will feel a euphoria that is absolutely divine. I am sure there is some truth to that, but gorging on a bagful of Doritos and a bowl of Haagen Dazs’ Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream is pretty darn divine too. But I’m over fifty now, and during my last annual checkup the doctor said that unless there was a significant change in my lifestyle my blood pressure and cholesterol would get way out of control. Coincidentally about the same time, my school WhatsApp group forked into a subgroup that had people posting their daily exercise reports. Photos and videos of my former class mates doing pushups and crunches and running 5Ks started to show up on my feed. This was during fall, and the leaves had just started changing color, the weather was crisp but not tool cold and the light mist in the mornings made everything look very dreamy. So I put on my running shoes and went out for a walk. It was like I expected, boring as hell. But then I started listening to podcasts and audio books during these walks. Death of a Salesman, Interpreter of Maladies, Hamlet, The Sense of an Ending, John Woman and I just started Unsettled Ground. This was suddenly and unexpectedly fun, an activity I actually looked forward to, with photos I could post of my own to my friends. It’s just below freezing outside, and there is a bit of snow on the ground, but there is no wind blowing. Perfect walking weather, I think. But it’s also the last day of the year, and I have another self imposed ritual I need to complete first.
So Happy New Year everyone.
May it be a happy and healthy one for all.